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Mortar
}} Overview The Mortar is a powerful support weapon developed by the Coalition of Ordered Governments to provide squad-level fire-support. Like all mortars, it is a long-ranged, indirect-firing weapon intended to deal with troops in cover, keep foes pinned down, and deal with large clusters of enemies at once. Unlike modern Mortars, however, the Gears of War Mortar operates with a few unique features. The Mortar fires a single, long-ranged shell, equipped with an SFFS (Self-Forging Fragmenting Submunition) system. Upon apogee, the Mortar scatters a series of explosive bombshells that proceed to rain down along the Mortar's firing line. The end result is a blanket of devastation, covering a huge range. The effect this weapon has on enemy morale is dramatic; enemies will flee for cover rather than be caught in the blast radius (and if they don't, they are likely to be killed outright if not be seriously wounded). Even better, as an indirect-fire weapon, the Mortar can be safely fired from a relatively secure position. In times of emergency, it can also be fired directly, as a conventional projectile weapon, though if fired this way the shell is rather inaccurate and does not scatter. The Mortar in deployed mode has a maximum range of 150 meters. The Mortar's sheer firepower is beyond reproach - the Imulsion-fueled bombshells it drops are capable of causing critical damage to even heavier units, such as Reavers and Brumaks. Unfortunately, the weapon is both tricky to aim and extremely loud and obvious - the firing of a mortar is a dead give-away to all in the area that a Mortar operator immediately becomes a priority target. Secondly, the weapon is functionally useless if a target manages to get top-cover (I.E. a roof) over their heads. Though designed and built by the COG, it, like many weapons developed and in use by the COG, is used by the Locust Horde as well. The Locust frequently salvage the weapon, and when they do, make use of it whenever and wherever they can. Drones are particularly fond of it, but occasionally Snipers can be seen using them as well. Multiplayer Use The Mortar is a extremely useful weapon that can turn the tide of the battle. You can operate the Mortar the same as the Mulcher. You can take cover or use it as you walk but your actions are severely limited. For example, you can't run as fast, you slide into Cover slower, and you can't make evasive maneuvers. In other words, you become overall "cumbersome"; the trade-off is a massive amount of firepower. A good tactic to use with the mortar is to bombard the central battleground where most of the combat takes place, such as in Jacinto near the bridge where the weapon is found, as this is where most of the fighting occurs in this map. You should warn your teammates before doing this as they could be caught up in the blast. Mortar Operation The Mortar can be operated two ways. The first is that you can fire it just like the Mulcher, you can slide into cover with it and fire it directly at your enemy. The second and more effective way is to mount it to the ground. As you press the fire button, your on screen character cranks it up, and gives the distance the shell will fire to in meters, displayed on the HUD. For this reason it can be hard to aim, which can result in a lot of trial shots before any success can be achieved. Be careful though when using the second method though, you will be left vulnerable to attack, counter this by having a teammate guard you as you operate the Mortar. It can also be blind fired, like the other weapons. However, the mortar will not sail through the air, but travel along the ground and will eventually stop and explode. Trivia *Getting 30 kills with the Mortar earns the player the "Shock and Awe" Achievement. This achievement is named after the Shock and Awe tactics used by Coalition forces in the second Gulf War.